Ally Apna Dal (K) calls Samajwadi Party’s Rajya Sabha list a ‘fraud’

Lucknow: The Samajwadi Party-led coalition in Uttar Pradesh appears to be in trouble ahead of this month’s Rajya Sabha polls. Days after former ally Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) joined the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) fold, another ally, the Apna Dal (Kamerawadi), has announced it would abstain from voting in the 27 February election citing reservations about the SP’s choice of candidates. 

In her remarks to ThePrint, Pallavi Patel, the lone MLA from the Apna Dal (Kamerawadi), cited the party’s objections to two of three candidates — actor Jaya Bachchan, whom the SP has renominated, and retired Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer Alok Ranjan, a former chief secretary of Uttar Pradesh who was also SP chief Akhilesh Yadav’s advisor when the latter was chief minister of the state from 2012 to 2017.

“Neither Bachchan nor Ranjan belongs to the Picchde, Dalit, Alpsankhyak group (the backward, Dalit and minority group or PDA that the SP-led Mahagathbandhan is eyeing ahead of this year’s general election),” Pallavi, who fought the 2022 Uttar Pradesh assembly polls on an SP ticket, told ThePrint, calling their nomination a “fraud which her party won’t be a part of”.  

While Bachchan and Ranjan belong to what are considered forward castes, the party’s third candidate — former MP Ram Ji Lal Suman — comes from a community which is part of the state list of Scheduled Castes (SCs). All three have already filed their nominations. 

“When we are taking votes from this community and are unable to ensure their participation, then the way forward will be full of difficulties,” she said.

“It is the backwards, the Dalits and the minorities that are fighting (for us) on roads, but when it comes to participation we are being forced to vote for Bachchan and Ranjan,” she said, adding that while the Apna Dal (K) did not oppose anyone personally, this issue is a “very important matter associated with the party and the alliance, and needs to be deliberated upon”.

Pallavi’s comments come at a time when there were speculations that the Apna Dal (K) was seeking a Rajya Sabha nomination for Pallavi’s mother Krishna Patel — the party’s current president.

The remarks also come days after Jayant Chaudhary, chief of SP’s former ally RLD, joined the NDA fold, dealing a major blow to the alliance. This was preceded by the conferment of Bharat Ratna — India’s highest civilian honour — on former prime minister and Jayant’s grandfather Chaudhary Charan Singh.

The SP, which has a total of 108 MLAs in the Uttar Pradesh Assembly, is looking to win three of the state’s 10 Rajya Sabha seats. For this, it requires a total of 111 votes and has been counting on allies to get them over the finish line.   

Asked about Pallavi’s allegations Wednesday, Akhilesh Yadav told reporters Wednesday that “several seats still have to be decided”.   

“BJP people are scared of the PDA,” he said. Yadav added, “As far as our coalition partner (Apna Dal-K) is concerned, I hope they will strengthen the PDA cause. Many seats are still to be decided. First legislative council election will take place, then Rajya Sabha polls, and then again the MLC election. So, where is the fight for the PDA getting weakened?”

The terms of 13 members of the UP Legislative Council are set to end in May this year, although elections for these have yet to be announced.

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‘No family drama’: Apna Dal (K)’s Pallavi Patel

Elaborating on her objections to the nominations, Pallavi Patel said that while Bachchan is a “big actress in her area and an intellectual woman, this is no family drama”.

As for former IAS officer Alok Ranjan, “he is a government babu, who, during Akhilesh ji’s regime, did not let the three-tier reservation system be implemented during his tenure.” 

“You harmed the backwards and today, you want to move forward with the votes of the backwards. How is this possible? So, the participation of backwards, Dalits, and minorities, is not there and we are not a part of this fraud,” she said, referring to the 2013 policy of the Uttar Pradesh Public Service Commission, which introduced caste-based quotas in all stages of the state’s civil service examinations. The policy led to violent protests in the state and was eventually stayed by the Allahabad High Court.

However, she dismissed media reports that her party was looking for a Rajya Sabha nomination for her mother, saying there was no such demand. At the same time, she said that with the general election near, it was important to keep the PDA cause in mind.

“Even if a demand is being raised for her, is she not a part of PDA? There is no such demand from our side, but since we’re leading the kamera (labourer) community, we, too, have a responsibility toward our voters. If we are unable to bring our thoughts and ideology to the fore, how will we win the people’s trust?” 

Asked about the future of Apna Dal (K)’s alliance with the SP in light of the latest developments, she said it was up to her mother Krishna to decide. When asked to comment on Yadav’s remarks, she indicated her party was still open for talks.  

“I had said that when we forged the alliance back in 2022, our leader Krishna Patel and Akhilesh ji, who was leading us like a big brother, took the decision, and in the future too, they will take a decision (about the alliance),” she told ThePrint.

“(But) here, it’s not about the alliance. Here, we want to bring the issue (that the slogan of PDA isn’t fulfilled at the ground level) for discussion”.

The party, she said, would continue to work along its ideological position. 

“We’re sitting in the Opposition by taking votes from the Opposition’s vote bank and we are satisfied where we are,” she said.

“Our politics is done with our conscience and our commitment is towards the backwards, the Dalits and minorities. Our only demand is PDA. When PDA is the slogan, it should reflect in our behaviour, conduct, and in that (Rajya Sabha) list,” she said.

Rajya Sabha polls: How SP is placed

Of the 10 Rajya Sabha seats from Uttar Pradesh that will go to the polls on 27 February, nine are currently with the BJP while one is with the SP. 

A candidate needs at least 37 votes to win a seat. Until RLD’s announcement last week, SP, with the backing of allies, was set to win three of those seats, while the BJP-led NDA would have secured the other seven. However, RLD, with its nine MLAs, is all set to upset the apple cart, possibly securing even an eighth seat for the NDA.

For the SP, numbers currently look precarious. Of SP’s 108 MLAs, two — Shamli MLA Nahid Hasan and Kanpur legislator Haji Irfan Solanki — are currently in jail under the Uttar Pradesh Gangsters and the Anti-Social Activities (Prevention) Act, 1986, and therefore will not be able to cast their votes. 

With RLD switching sides, the SP has only its own MLAs, along with two from the Congress, to rely on. Pallavi’s decision to abstain from voting, therefore, could mean one less vote for the party.

Meanwhile, eight BJP candidates, including former Rajya Sabha MP and one-time SP leader Sanjay Seth, have filed their nominations for the election.

These equations appeared to be weighing on SP chief Yadav’s mind Wednesday, when he tried to allay Apna Dal (K)’s concerns. In his response, the former Uttar Pradesh chief minister promised to accommodate more PDA members in future candidate lists. 

“In a big fight (such as the one for the PDA), the support of everyone is required, and they need to be taken together,” he told the media.

(Edited by Uttara Ramaswamy)

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